Bring Them Back

Should it happen?

Ok, pretend for a minute that the formula for bringing dinosaurs back into existence was just sitting right in front of you. It's completely up to you to make the decision whether or not it happens. You can't phone a friend, you can't ask your followers on Twitter, and you can't ask for a worldwide vote. That decision is completely on you. What would you do?

I am a HUGE dinosaur fanatic, and wouldn't think twice about giving it the green light. I'd do it, hands down. Now, I've had this conversation with several different people over the years, and it seems that a lot (if not most) wouldn't. But why?

Today, I am going to shut down every excuse and reason not to, that I have heard from these people.

1.) They Would Eat People

This is by far the most popular reason. It seems that Jurassic Park/World has painted dinosaurs in a bad light. Yes, some of them were carnivorous. However, if I am not mistaken, there are carnivorous animals all over the planet. I understand that sharp teeth are scary, especially if there are a lot of them. But, it has been scientifically proven that to numerous carnivorous animals across the globe DO NOT like the taste of human. Which makes sense with all the toxins in our bodies from the food and drinks that we all consume. Not to mention that we wouldn't be very filling. It would be like a 45 foot whale eating 2 or 3 fish. They would be more inclined to eat something a lot bigger.

Also, we hardly know anything of their mannerisms. At best, all we can do is guess. They might not be mindless killing machines. Maybe, just maybe, they are like every other animal on the planet and eats when it's hungry.

Plus, if they were raised from birth by humans, they might be able to co-exist with us somewhat easily. Like dogs, cats, birds, etc. We as a human race have successfully trained a lot of "wild" animals. Lions, bears, wolves, elephants, dolphins... the list goes on and on. This being said, I am not denying that things don't happen. Plenty of people have been attacked by various animals, from squirrels to tigers to sharks to just about every animal there is. But do we exterminate every animal that can kill us? No. At the very least, they should be brought back to further understand them (eating habits, general mannerisms and temperaments) and then go from there.

2.) They're Too Big

Really? This is an excuse that is really irritating to me. "They would be too big to control." Ok, let's dive into this a little further.

First off, some dinosaurs are big and some of them are small. I'm making this clear for those who do not know. Not all dinosaurs are big. I promise.

Now that we have that established, I will get to my point. Yes, some dinosaurs were big. But have you honestly ever heard anyone say, "I tried everything to train this animal, but I just couldn't because it's just too darn big"? I know I haven't. I've heard a lot of reasons why individual animals could not be taught, but never anything about size. People have trained orca whales for years. Yes, they're big. Yep, some people got hurt. (There is a lot more that goes into that than orcas being vicious wild killer whales.) But, there are also dog trainers that I'm sure have had a lot of negative experiences as far as being bitten. Or just ordinary every day people getting attacked by a dog that got off it's leash or out of their yard. It happens. But can you argue that any animal (large or small) does not interact with humans better, when it is raised properly by humans from birth? No, you can't. Anything that is raised by loving and nurturing humans has a lot better chance of being kind towards them.

Obviously, if my dream of dinosaurs walking among us ever came to fruition, that the larger dinosaurs would need the proper and appropriate space. But, there are dinosaurs that have been found that are as small as a cat and would not take up that much space. But, how cool would it be to have a Brachiosaurus instead of a crane? Or a Triceratops, to take to work, instead of a car? Maybe a raptor, if you're running late?

My last point to this argument is a little bit more scientific. Genetic engineering! I am aware that dinosaur DNA has yet to be found (so they say). But now, you can choose your baby's eye color, sex, hair color, etc. So why would we not be able to make them smaller? We have created breeds of cats and dogs to look bigger, smaller, different colors. Why couldn't we do that with dinosaurs? I wouldn't mind a teacup T-Rex.

3.) People Would Use Them for Bad Things

Yep. People always do. But, how is that any different than people that are involved in dog fights? There is no ban on people not being able to have dogs because they MIGHT do something bad. I fully acknowledge that an attack raptor would be a really horrible thing to be up against. I have several different ideas to try and prevent such a thing, but let's be honest, people find a way.

I go back to my idea that I had before: smaller sizes equals smaller bites. Would it still hurt to get bit? Absolutely. Would it instantly kill you if you were bitten? Not necessarily. Depends on where it bit you. Would the survival rate of an attack be higher than if they were full sized? Definitely.

My second idea is to have very limited access to owning any dinosaur. There would be a lot of laws and regulations that would come along with allowing people to own dinosaurs as pets or for any other purpose. Now, do people always follow the law? Nope. They sure don't. But that's what the justice system is for.

4.) They Might Carry Diseases that Can Be Transmitted to Humans

This was an interesting thought. I hadn't come across this argument before and had to think about it for a while. To be clear, my husband brought this point up after we had watched the new Planet of the Apes movie.

Ok, so to think that the CDC wouldn't do extensive, in depth research on any illnesses or risks that dinosaurs could bring to the human race is just laughable. It's one thing for new illnesses to come about and we don't know much about them, but this would be a creature that was created in a lab, monitored twenty-four seven. Scientists would be able to catch any and all imperfections. If they found some sort of horrible disease that makes your skin fall off, they would try to find a way to fix it. If they couldn't, then there wouldn't be any more dinosaurs.

Also, on the flip side of that, who's to say that dinosaurs aren't the cure for some serious illnesses/diseases that we as humans have? Maybe something in their blood could help us in some way? Imagine a cure for cancer, and also living among dinosaurs! It's a win for everyone!

My point is, we don't know what we don't know. The only possible way to know whether it is a horrible idea or a terrible one, is to do it. Trial and error is the most efficient way of finding out. So, for everyone to base their opinions about dinosaurs off of Jurassic Park/World, is a joke. Those movies were supposed to scare and thrill you for entertainment purposes only. If they brought back dinosaurs and it didn't work for whatever reason, they could stop it at any time. But, in my opinion, it would be worth a shot. I wouldn't mind having a Teacup T-Rex in my house!!! Thanks for reading!